SusanDallas wrote:
We have the same problem in the subdivision where I live. It is in a very small rural area. Our houses are set on 1 - 5 acres. The whole subdivision is only 5 streets. This strange drive by behavior started almost 2 years ago by people who had just moved in recently. It first started in the spring 2 years ago. My street has only 4 houses on it & I own 2 of them.
One morning, I was eating breakfast & this silver pickup drove by going very slowly. I wouldn't have noticed but their engine was loud. This pickup drove by every 30 minutes all day long. I thought at first they were looking for a loose dog, horse or goat. After the third day, I called the county sheriff. The police parked at the end of my street and observed this person drive by several times. The only thing the sheriff could think of was maybe this lady was learning to drive since she never left the subdivision. The only thing is sometimes it was a man alone in the pickup.
After about a week of this behavior, I got in my car and followed her. I wanted her to know that I was following her because I wanted her behavior to stop. This must have upset her because she pulled into her driveway on the street next to mine and got out. She had a baby in a carrier in the pickup with her. I drove off and went home. I would never confront anyone. I am a chicken but I wanted to find out what she was doing. She drives around the whole subdivision then goes in her house. Twenty minutes later, she loads the baby back in the pickup & the whole process starts over again.
I wouldn't have been very concerned but my rental house next door to me was vacant. I was worried that they were scouting the area for something to steal. Anyway, this has gone on now for almost 2 years. They start around 7 am & it goes on until I go to bed. Most of the time it is the woman. I believe her husband must work. Mostly, on the weekends, it is her husband doing the drive by.
One day this last winter, it was sleeting and 17 degrees outside with the wind blowing. This woman still put her baby in the pickup and continued her every 30 minute drive by all around the subdivision.
This is very odd behavior and I have yet to figure out why they do this. I thought at first the woman had some obsessive compulsive behavior but her husband drives by also. If any police officer or psychiatrist has an answer to this I would love to know. After watching this for almost 2 years, I just ignore it but it is still a mystery. Strange but True.
With her having a child in tow, I promise you that the parents aren't doing it for their kicks. I'd wager that the child has some sort of developmental disorder and either the movement, vibration or some combination of the two is some form of therapy or soothing action for their kid.
I have a step-son that has Asperger's, which is a milder form of Autism, some even call it high functioning, and he has some pecuilar body movements and twitches. The uncontrolled body movements are called "stimming" and are a self-stimulatory behavior which often increase during periods of stress and anxiety as a coping mechanism.
He has become aware of some of these, and will sometimes try to modify his behavior/actions when he senses that he's doing it. Farther down on the Autism scale where the kids are worse off, they will often just rock incessantly or some other form of body movement to sooth themselves and become highly agitated when they stop.
If this has been going on 24/7 for the last 2+ years, I feel sorry for those parents, especially the mom if she's having to do it for 5 days straight with no relief, and no relief in the forseeable future. Grab a coffee and catch her on the next lap, she could probably use some adult interaction during the day as a way to maintain her sanity.
